By Ikechukwu Okaforadi
One of the support groups of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the APC Legacy Awareness and Campaign, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari will complete the 700MW Zungeru Hydropower Plant is scheduled for completion at the end of 2021 – it will be one of the biggest power plants in the country.
In a statement issued yesterday and signed jointly by the Director General of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Salihu Moh Lukman, the former National Publicity Secretary of APC, Lanre Issa-Onilu, the Youths representative in the APC Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Ismael Ahmed and Tolu Ogunlesi, the group said abandoned projects inherited by the APC government, including: the 40MW Kashimbila Dam and Hydropower Plant; the 10MW Katsina Wind Farm; and the 30MW Gurara Hydroelectric Power Plant, which has been completed and concessioned to the private sector in 2020.
The statement titled ‘President Buhari’s Administration Power Sector Scorecard’, said Buhari has even initiated new Projects, including the private-sector-led Azura Power Plant in Edo State (460MW), for which the financial close was facilitated in 2015/2016, and which was completed in the first quarter of 2018, several months ahead of schedule.
“The Buhari Administration also built the Afam Three Fast Power Plant, with a capacity to generate 240MW of electricity. Following a competitive bidding process, that new plant has been sold, alongside the neighbouring Afam Power Plc (966MW installed capacity), to Transcorp Plc, in demonstration of the administration’s belief in the managerial capacity of the private sector.
“The Energizing Education Programme: This was designed to supply clean and reliable energy (Solar and Gas) to Federal Universities and Federal Teaching Hospitals across the country. So far, four Universities have had their power plants completed and commissioned: BUK (Kano), FUNAI (Ebonyi), ATBU (Bauchi) and FUPRE (Delta); while others are ongoing in the first phase of the programme.
“The Energizing Economies Programme: A complementary programme to the Energizing Education, this time targeted at markets and economic clusters across the country. Completed projects include sections of Sabon-Gari Market in Kano, Ariaria Market in Aba, Abia State and Sura Shopping Complex in Lagos.
“The National Mass Metering Programme: This was launched in August 2020, in line with a presidential directive to ensure that all Nigerians receiving electricity from the national grid are metered. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been tasked with providing the 60 billion Naira for the first phase of the NMMP, with a target of 1 million meter installations. As of May 2021, more than 500,000 meters had been delivered to the Discos, and more than 280,000 installed. The NMMP is ongoing.
“The Solar Power Naija: This was launched in April 2021 to deliver 5 million off-grid solar connections to Nigerian households, as part of the Economic Sustainability Programme of the Buhari Administration, under the oversight of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
“The Solar Power Naija initiative is expected to generate $10 million in annual earnings from import substitution. In addition to the homes that will be covered, the programme will also see the deployment of solar-powered grids to Primary Health Centres (PHC) and Unity Schools nationwide.”
The group also made reference to the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), also known as The Siemens Power Programme, saying “This is yet another manifestation of President Buhari’s emphasis on Government-to-Government initiatives, for tackling some of the most pressing challenges facing the country.
“The PPI is a partnership between the Governments of Nigeria and Germany, and a multinational firm, Siemens AG of Germany, to upgrade and modernize Nigeria’s electricity grid, in three phases, over the next few years. President Buhari has since approved the payment of Nigeria’s counterpart funding for the pre-engineering segment of the PPI, and the relevant contract was signed earlier in 2021.
“The PPI alongside a host of other investment by the private sector and Development Finance Institutions like the World Bank, African Development Bank, Central Bank of Nigeria and others will attract more than $3 billion of new investment into the transmissions and distribution segments of the value chain.”
It also said the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) is providing grants to support the deployment of 200,000 Solar Home Systems, as well as a nationwide rollout of mini-grids, positively impacting the quality of life for millions of Nigerians
